


Before The Light Of Day

by Kodexe



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Absolutely not M/a/x/v/i/d, Child Abuse, Child Death, Child Neglect, Dead!Max, First fic for this fandom, kind of child murder?, murder due to neglect, two dead kids hanging out, yeah sorry this is gonna be angsty as hell
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-26
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2020-02-04 13:09:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18605161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kodexe/pseuds/Kodexe
Summary: Max wakes up in the middle of Camp Campbell, in the middle of winter, with no memory of how he got there. His confusion is only worsened when David doesn't seem to hear or see him. But hey, at least he's got Jasper to hang out with, right?*****"David, stop ignoring me, you asshole!" Max shouted, furiously waving his hand in front of the man's face.And then David walked through him, and Max finally understood.





	1. Max Wakes Up

**Author's Note:**

> Obligatory first fic for this fandom message! The chapters will vary in length, and I'm not entirely sure how long this will be, but I hope you enjoy it!

Max woke up in the middle of Camp Campbell, head throbbing, with no memory of how he got there. He could tell, even before opening his eyes, that it was the middle of the day, and he could still feel the chill of snow beneath him, so it must still be winter. 

"Haven't lost too much fuckin time then, I guess," He thought, though the fact that he didn't even know what day it was concerned him. He finally sat up, looking around. He hadn't expected anyone to be here, given that it was the offseason, so it took him by surprise to see a familiar green and brown car sitting close to the counselor's cabin. He slowly stood, grimacing at the ache in his body, and made his way to the cabin. Before he could reach for the door, it opened, David standing in the doorway. He seemed to be checking his pockets, most likely making sure he hadn't forgotten anything before leaving for the day. Max would never admit it, but he felt himself relax at the sight of the perpetually happy man. 

"Hey, David," He sneered, "Bet you weren't expecting to see me again so soon, tough fuckin' luck on your end!" David didn't even look up, and it seemed he had forgotten something after all, since he had now switched to digging through a drawer in the table next to the door. Soon enough, he found what he was looking for, and turned back to the door, still not acknowledging Max's presence. 

"David, stop ignoring me, you asshole!" Max shouted, furiously waving his hand in front of the man's face. And then David walked through him, and Max finally understood. He collapsed to his knees, and only now did he notice that there were no footprints in the snow from him, nor was there an indent where he had woken up. He stayed in that crouched position until he heard the roar of the engine, and he watched David's car drive away. He finally got up and brushed himself off, despite the fact that no snow had clung to his worn blue hoodie. He spent the rest of the day wandering around the empty camp, trying to come to grips with the fact that he was, apparently, dead.

*****************

Night finally came, and it brought with it a familiar face.

"Oh hey there! We've met before, haven't we?" The young boy said, blonde hair blowing gently in the night breeze. "Dang, I know I said I was lonely, but this wasn't how I wanted to make friends!" Jasper gently kicked at the snow with his toe before looking back up at Max, a wide but slightly insincere smile on his face. 

"Oh yeah, I remember you, the weird ghost kid," Max sighed dramatically, throwing his arms in the air in an overexaggerated shrug movement. "Guess I can't fuckin talk though, I mean just look at this shit!" He flailed his arms as he talked, as though that would show exactly what he was talking about. Jasper shrugged slightly, not seeming phased at all by Max's antics. 

"Yeah, it's kinda whack. But at least you've got me! I can teach you all the spooky tricks to mess with people! It'll probably just be us for a little while, unless Davey deciedes to come back for something. Nobody else visits until the summer, so you're kind of stuck with me either way."

Max shoved his hands into his pockets and shrugged again. "Sure, ghost-kid, show me what you've got."


	2. Ghost Practice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max learns how to be a ghost, and Jasper schemes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for Max talking about neglect (not detailed) and talk of recreational drug use (also not detailed).

"So," Max sighed, "What can ghosts do anyways? So far it seems like my powers are just 'get ignored by David.'" Max and Jasper were wandering around Camp Campbell, Jasper making good on his promise to teach Max about some ghost tricks.

Jasper shook his head a little frantically. "Nah home skillet, he wasn't ignoring you! He just couldn't see or hear you!" He shrunk a little at the glare Max was giving him. "Okay, I know that sounds like a whole lot of phooey, but I swear it's true! The living can only interact with us at night. You also probably won't be able to touch anything; that only happens if you get emotional, although with how angry you seem to be, that... may not be a problem for you." Max scoffed at that. "You also can't leave the camp during the day, the same way I'm usually stuck on Spooky Island! I think your soul might go wherever you feel the most drawn, so I gotta stay on the island. Not entirely sure why it's the camp for you, but hey we all have our places!"

"What about, like, moving on to the next plane or whatever bullshit? Is that a thing that happens, or am I just stuck in this godawful place for the rest of eternity?" The thought of it made him shudder, although he supposed staying around to mess with David and the future campers wouldn't be too bad. Jasper slowly shook his head, seeming slightly lost in thought for a moment.

"No, there definitely is a way to move on, I think your soul sticks around if it has unfinished business or something, I'm not really sure! I know I sure won't be able to relax until my body is out of that mine though, I think I might be able to move on when my body is recovered. Can't say for sure though!" Jasper shrugged, seeming unphased by the idea that he might never be free from both Spooky Island and the world in general. "Hey, uh, just a thought but you seem kinda fine with being dead? Not that you need to be freaking out or anything, it's just a little..." He trailed off, seeing Max's blank stare pointed his way.

"I'm not freaking out because I'm not fucking dead." Jasper blinked in surprise and stopped walking, simply staring back at Max. "Listen, I'm pretty fucking sure this is just some fever dream induced by inhaling some second-hand bullshit from the people who could be considered my foster parents. I'm going along with it because honestly, there's not much better to do, but sooner or later, I'm going to wake up in my shitty excuse for a bedroom and forget all about this fucking nightmare." Max's eyes were hard, and his voice built with every word, but Jasper could see the fear underneath, the fear that this wasn't a dream like he had told himself it was.

"Max..." he said, gently reaching out to touch Max's arm, but he ripped it away before he could make contact.

"Don't!" He shouted, tears building in his eyes. "I know, okay? I know. Just let me hold on to this, because if I really am dead, it means nobody gives a shit, nobody cares to the point where I fucking died because every adult I've been given to couldn't bring themselves to think about me past the next paycheck I would get them. It means nobody noticed that I was dying, or even worse, they fucking offed me themselves, and right now, I can't fucking deal with that, okay?" He wiped the tears that had soaked his face with his sweater sleeve. "Just... don't." He sounded exhausted rather than angry now, all the energy drained out of him with that outburst.

"Okay, Max," He said, sounding more like David in that moment than he ever had before.

They simply stood there for a long moment, Max still wiping at the tears that wouldn't stop running down his face. "I know I'm going to have to deal with being fucking dead or whatever eventually, it just doesn't feel real. If I am dead, what did I do to deserve this? Why do I have to stick around? Shouldn't I just be in hell or whatever? Unless this is hell, and I just haven't figured it out yet." He mumbled, no longer furious, just a sad, scared kid. 

"I don't know why you're still here, but we'll figure it out together. Maybe with Davey too, if he comes back any time soon." He placed his hand on Max's shoulder, and this time he didn't shove him off. "We're going to be okay." They stood in silence for a moment, both collecting their thoughts.

"So," Jasper grinned, trying to lighten the mood, "Now that you're here, you'll be my partner in death crime, right?" Max looked at him like he was an idiot, and he shrunk a little.

"Dude, fuck that shit. If I'm a ghost, I'm gonna do whatever the fuck I want, and there's literally nobody to stop me!" Max smirked, his previous good mood restored, and Jasper groaned in annoyance.

"Aw, come on broski! I'm dyin' over here, I just want to be at peace and book to the next life! Well, I'm not literally dyin', cause, ya know, ghost," He demonstrated his point by walking through a tree, "But you know what I mean!"

"Uuuuuuugh, fine! I'll see what I can do, but I make absolutely no promises, you got it?" He snapped, pointing at Jasper, and the boy lit up.

"Of course! Thanks, homie!"

"And stop with the fucking nicknames!"

*****

They had been scheming for the last half hour. Their plans ranged from "Get the quartermaster out of the creepy sex dungeon long enough to get him to the body," (Quickly shut down, since neither wanted to spend that amount of time with the terrifying man) to "Figure out how to use a phone as a ghost and call 9-1-1," (They tried; it didn't work. The operator couldn't hear them) before finally settling on "Convince David to investigate the mine and bury the body," Which Max figured would be pretty easy, provided he could get David to stay and talk to him long enough for him to convince him once David found out he was a ghost.

They also agreed that he shouldn't know it was Jasper's body. He was torn up enough as it was, just thinking that Jasper had been taken home before the end of camp. The pair feared he would cry nonstop for several days if he found out his childhood best friend was dead, and had been dead this whole time, which would be pretty bad for all parties involved. So, with that settled, all they had left to do was wait until David showed up again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big thank you to my girlfriend, @axolotlnerd, for helping me outline and plan for this whole story! They also write Camp Camp fics, so go check them out!!


	3. Communication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max talks to David, Jasper moves on.

It took three days for David to show up again. The sun was already beginning to set, and Max shot up at the sight of the old car, running to find Jasper. 

"How do I interact with the living?" He shouted, Jasper just barely in sight. The boy started, clearly not expecting Max to suddenly want a conversation, especially about living people. It had taken a full day, and a few breakdowns, for Max to fully realize that he was in fact dead, and it was still something of a sore topic. But Jasper was willing to tell him anything he wanted to know, hoping it would make the transition easier.

"Have you tried just talk to them? It worked for me!" Max rolled his eyes.

"Wow, why didn't I think of that! Gee, thanks Jasper, where would I be without you?" Jasper scoffed, not appreciating the sarcasm being thrown at him.

"Well, I don't know! If you don't want to just talk to the living like a normal person, just do whatever you want! I'm sure not going to stop you." He nodded before turning and walking back the way he came.

He tossed a "Thanks or whatever, I guess." over his shoulder, and then went to find David. He found him still sitting in his car, staring intently at a book in his lap, paperwork stacked on the seat next to him. Max thought for a moment, debating what to do. On one hand, he could take Jasper's advice and go talk to him, but the thought of having a conversation about how he was dead while leaning in a car window wasn't particularly appealing. So, he reasoned, he'd have to get David out of the car first. A smirk overtook his face as he knelt down, focusing hard on becoming corporeal. He managed to pick up a handful of snow, and maybe a little ice, packed it together, and chucked it at the car door.

It hit with a satisfying crack, and David immediately jumped, startled by the noise. He stared out the window for a long moment, but dismissed the shape of Max in the darkness as just a rock, or a small, snow-covered tree. It was enough, however, to get him to put the car into drive and leave the camp. Max swore, kicking at a rock, and then swore some more when his anger made him just physical enough to actually make contact. David had only been gone for a few minutes, though, when Max saw a set of headlamps coming back up the path. He hid behind the rock he had just kicked, not wanting to be seen just yet, and especially not by a stranger. But when the headlights died and David himself stepped out, a confused look on his face like he didn't even know why he had come back, Max stepped out, ensuring the man's back faced him.

"Hey, Jackass," He shouted, "Bet you thought you'd seen the last of me!"

The man shrieked, immediately slipping on the ice and falling. Max cackled, moving to stand over David, who still looked scared, but was also now worried, and more than a little confused.

"Max?" He murmured, voice tentative, like the boy would vanish if he spoke too loudly. "What are you doing here? How... how did you get here?" He reached up to touch his shoulder, but Max yanked away before he could, laughter suddenly running dry.

He waved his hand in as nonchalant a manner as he could manage. "Not important. What is important, Davey, is that you need to help me with a little project." David went to say something, but he was cut off before he could. "Nope! No fucking questions, got it? That's the rule, either you help me SILENTLY, or I walk away, and you'll never see or hear from me again." To anyone else, he knew, the promise of never seeing him again would be the greatest gift they could receive. But David was nice, infuriatingly nice, and Max knew he would torment himself for the rest of his life if he didn't help Max with whatever he asked.

David slowly nodded, agreeing to the terms if it meant Max would let him help. He pushed himself up, standing and brushing the snow off his clothes. "Alright, Max, lead the way!"

It took them a while to find shovels, and even longer to find a safe path to Spooky Island. Max didn't have to worry about falling through the ice on the lake, but David did, and as a result he moved incredibly slowly, testing the ice with a rock before walking forwards even an inch. When they reached a familiar mine, David stopped short.

"Now I know you said no questions, but I need to know what we're doing here. I can't just dig up an entire cave in without knowing why!" Max shrugged, moving to lean against a tree, or at least look like he was. If his hoodie was sinking through the tree a little, well, nobody really needed to know.

"There's a body in there. We need to get it out, and give it a proper burial. Don't worry, it should be all skeleton by now." David stared at him in shock, and maybe horror, for a moment.

"Max, how do you know that? We should go to the police for this, not just dig it up!" He shook his head quickly. The idea of the police getting involved with this was awful, it would take months to get sorted out, and how would David feel knowing what really happened to his childhood friend? No, it was better to just get this over with and let Jasper move on.

"Can't tell you how I know, or who the fuck it is, but just trust me on this, getting the police involved would be real shitty for everyone involved." David let out a long, pained sigh.

"You know what, I'm pretty sure this has to be a dream, since there's no way all of this is real. So okay, I'll do it."

It took about an hour of David carefully shifting and moving rocks for the remains to become visible. Just as Max had said, all that was there was a skeleton. The clothing and shoes had either decomposed with it, or had been removed at some point. The bones were small, appearing to be those of a child, and David almost started crying upon unearthing them. He managed to hold back, telling himself that this is just a bad dream, and he can have a good cry when he wakes up.

He moved to an area shaded by a tree, where the snow was thinnest, and began digging a grave. He managed to make it two feet deep before the ground was too solid to keep going, and he carefully picked up the bones, laying them gently in the grave. By the time he covered it back up, he was sure it was past midnight, and his entire body was aching. The pain made him reconsider whether this really was a dream after all. He had never felt pain in a dream before this, but if this really was real... Well. That was a thought for later. He turned with a frown to the young boy, who had moved some time ago to sit on the ground.

"You could've helped, you know! It might've saved my back a bit of trouble, at the very least." Max scoffed, standing up once again and crossing his arms over his chest.

"No, i really fucking couldn't've." David could feel himself getting mad, but he was too exhausted to try and calm himself down.

"Now stop that right now Max, I've been lenient tonight, but you're really pushing my buttons! I'm doing all this at your request, the least you could do is lend a hand!" Max's cheeks and ears were starting to turn red, and he was shaking slightly.

"Jesus Christ, I knew you were oblivious, but this is bad even for you! Take a fucking hint already! I’m fucking  _dead, David!_   Is that what you wanted to hear? I'm a fucking ghost, and that means I'm going to be your problem until you get rid of me, or just leave like _literally everyone else has!_ " The wind around them picked up as the boy shouted, locking the two in the center of a swirling tornado of snow and ice, and David looked both terrified and heartbroken. "It's your choice, David. Help me, or leave." As the fight left his body, the wind died down, and the forest around them seemed suddenly too silent.

"Okay. I'll help you," He reached out, trying to place a hand on his shoulder but just phasing through him instead. That was the last thing it took for him to start crying. "No matter what it takes, Max, I will help."

As the two started to walk back to the camp, Max saw Jasper standing in a clearing just off the trail, staring up at the night sky. He silently checked on David, making sure he was engrossed enough in his thoughts that he wouldn't notice Max slip away, and then he trailed behind, veering off into the clearing when he was sure the man wouldn't notice.

He was quickly pulled into a tight hug, and heard a whispered "Thank you" in his ear before suddenly, Jasper was gone, and Max was standing alone in a clearing. He heard David call his name, and he gave a solemn nod to the now empty space where Jasper had been, before turning and making his way back to David.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm more than a little sleep deprived so I'm sure this isn't as cohesive as I want it to be, but whatever, just means I have to edit later! Thanks for reading this anyways!


	4. Vanishing Act

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max finally remembers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a little dialogue heavy, but that's just the way I write babie!

David had settled in to spend the night at camp, complete with a pair of Camp Campbell brand pajamas that he apparently carried around in his car, and a big mug of hot chocolate. He and Max were sitting in the counselor's cabin, David on his bed and Max simply standing in the middle of the room, hands shoved deep in his pockets. 

"So," David trailed, blowing gently on his drink, "How _do_ we get you to eternal peace? Not that I'm trying to get rid of you or anything! I love having you around, it's just-"

"Shut up, David. We just have to find my fuckin' body or whatever, and bury it. Surely even you can manage that." David nodded, ignoring the jab.

"Alright, well, where is your body?" Max threw his hands up.

"How the fuck should I know? I just woke up here, and I definitely didn't die in this shithole!" 

"Well, what's the last thing you remember? Maybe we can figure something out from that!" Max groaned, staring up at the ceiling.

"I was with my foster parents. They only took me in for the monthly payments, which, I mean, whatever, not the first fucking time it's happened. So I got into a fight with them, and-"

"What did you fight about? I don't want to assume the worst of anyone, but it might be important!" Max leveled a glare at David before moving his gaze to the wall behind him, eyes slightly glassy.

"It was my birthday."

"Oh, Max, I-" His voice was unbearably soft, and Max almost broke at the sound of it.

"Don't!" He snapped, turning to face the door, afraid that he wouldn't be able to continue if he could see David's face, far more concerned and upset than any parent he'd ever been placed with. "So we got into a fight, and they told me to get out, so I just fucking left. It was snowing, and... I..." He groaned loudly, grabbing his head, barely managing to stay standing with the waves of pain running through his head. He let out a low scream, and then the mental block and the pain were gone, and he remembered everything. He simply started walking, through the door and out into the center of camp. He couldn't think, just reliving his last moments over and over. He screamed, finally feeling the tears running down his face, and fell to his knees. He was barely aware of the way the trees shook with his agony, or of David's voice next to him.

He felt David's hand on his arm, and suddenly he was there again. The trees stopped shaking, he could hear David talking to him, trying to calm him down, and finally, David's hand fell through him. They sat for a moment silently, Max trying to catch breath he didn't have in the first place.

"Max?" David's voice was tentative, like he thought Max would start screaming again if he spoke.

"I left, I went to the park because I didn't know where the fuck else to go, and I got stuck in a blizzard. I tried to wait it out, I sat against a tree to try and stay warm, but the storm didn't stop. It didn't _fucking_ stop, and I froze." He heard quiet sniffles beside him, and he suddenly wished he knew how to comfort the man who had been there for him all summer, no matter how awful he was to him.

"I'm so sorry, Max," He whispered through his cries, and Max's head shot up, staring at him incredulously. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you. Maybe if I had done something, _anything_ , you would still be-" This time, he was cut off by his own sob, and Max looked away, starting to get angry now instead.

"This isn't about you, _David_ , I'm literally fucking dead! In what way is this possibly about YOU?" He shouted at the man, no longer sympathetic to his sobs.

"I didn't do anything when you left at the end of camp. I saw the type of people you were leaving with, and I still let you leave. And for that, Max, I am truly sorry. Maybe if I had stepped in, or even just gave you a number to call if you needed help, this wouldn't've happened." Max sighed, moving to lean back on his arms.

"There's literally nothing you could've done. I would've rejected any attempts you made to help me, and this would've happened anyways. You gotta stop looking back on what could have happened, because there's nothing you could possibly fucking do to change it now. It's over, so just move on with your life." David had finally stopped crying, and took a moment to wipe away his tears.

"You're right, Max. Thank you." They sat in peaceful silence for a moment, watching the clouds drift overhead. "Now, let's go find your body!"


	5. Disappearance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David and Max try to find Max's body. Things don't go as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, sorry about that! I hope you enjoy it anyways.

Max sat in the passenger seat of David's car, all of his focus taken up by remaining solid enough to not just sink through the seat. The overly peppy pop music David was playing on the radio wasn't helping his concentration, but he didn't care enough to tell him to turn it off.

David had insisted that he needed at least some sleep before going to find his body, and had slept in the counselor's cabin until 6am, when he woke up in an obscenely good mood for the time of day. It had taken him an hour to shower, eat ("Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, Max!" "I'm dead, I don't think food matters anymore."), and pack up all the things he had taken out to spend the night there. The drive to Max's home town would take around two hours, if they were lucky and avoided traffic and snow. They were still about an hour out when the sun began to rise.

As soon as the sun came fully above the horizon, Max seemed to disintegrate, vanishing from the car. David nearly crashed, the panic of Max disappearing immediately setting in. He quickly pulled over to the side of the road, searching the car and the surrounding road for the young boy, calling his name and begging him to do something if he was still there. There was no response, and David, in his sleep-deprived and panicked mindset, figured that Max had simply been a stress induced hallucination. He got back in his car, and made the turnoff to go back to his house, deciding to sleep off the memory of Max that seemed so vivid.

Max, meanwhile, had suddenly appeared back at Camp Campbell, sitting on his ass in the middle of the same field he woke up in when he died. He sat up, blinking in confusion. He had just been in David's car, hadn't he? He felt himself start to panic. What if that had all been a dream, or a death-fueled false memory, and David hadn't even been here at all? After all, what would David be doing at the camp in the middle of winter?

And then he got angry. No, David hadn't been a dream. He was sure of it, more sure than he had been about anything since he found himself at the camp. He stood up, shaking with fury. "Hey God, what the _fuck_?!" He screamed, head tilted back, staring at the dark clouds beginning to form. "I'm already fucking dead, you don't have to fuck with me even more! I swear on my own motherfucking soul, since clearly swearing on you doesn't mean shit, that eventually I will make my way up there, and when I do I will kick your fucking ass. What did I do to _deserve this_?" A furious storm blazed around him, covering everything in a thick white haze, and Max was sure that if he wasn't already dead, he would be again.

The cold, biting winds reminded him of his own death, too much for comfort, and, caught in the sudden memory of a storm that had ended long ago, he stumbled his way to the edge of the forest. He sprinted around a tree, collapsing on the ground and cowering in his hoodie, the body pulled over his knees and his face tucked entirely inside the hood in a desperate and useless attempt to hide from the cold. He screamed, begging for someone, anyone, to find him and take him somewhere warm and safe and just fucking _inside_. But nobody came the last time, and nobody would come this time either. All there was to do was wait out the storm, and hope that David would come back soon.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I took a break between chapters, I've been trying to sleep more but it's not really happening, so I'll keep writing until 2 in the morning.


	6. In A Week

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> David returns, and it's time to scheme.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, life has been kicking my ass. Chapter title from the song of the same name by Hozier! Alternate chapter title is "Just a Lot of Italics" lmao  
> I might go back in and edit this later, but we'll see. Enjoy!

David had been gone for a week, and Max had never felt so alone in his life. Sure, he had had foster parents that ignored him, or left him alone for long periods of time, but he had always had the internet, or school, and someone for him to yell at at the very least. This time, all he had was silence and snow. He had taken to talking to himself to just have some kind of sound, and he had been in the midst of another pointless rant about _those fucking idiots, locking a kid out when it was fucking storming_ , when he heard the sound of an approaching car. He sprinted towards the sound, so thankful just to have someone else there at this point.

"David!" He screamed, running full force towards the man, who had just gotten out of the car, and then running through him. He dropped to the ground, practically sobbing as David started humming to himself. It wasn't close enough to night for Max to be seen, but right now, he didn't care. He just wanted David there, where Max could see him and hear him and _fuck, David, why didn't you come back sooner?_ Max followed him into the councilor's cabin, staying at his side until night fell, and then he shouted, because he could, because he wasn't alone, and because someone could hear him.

"What the FUCK, David?" The man in question opened his mouth as if to scream, clutching at his chest, but before any sound could come out, his chair fell off balance, sending him sprawling to the ground. "I knew you were a loser, but I didn't know you were an asshole too!" Max growled, standing over David with his arms crossed over his chest. 

"Max!" He scrambled to his feet, reaching out to pull the boy into a hug before thinking better of it. "I-I thought you were a dream, a stress-induced hallucination! I'm so sorry buddy," He sounded genuinely remorseful, but Max had become furious since David had arrived.

"Ohhhh, you're so sorry, huh? You weren't fucking sorry when you left me here, alone, for a fucking week! I vanished, and you couldn't even bother to CHECK if I was real or not? That's bullshit, David, you abandoned me. Sorry I couldn't just vanish and leave you alone, like you clearly want me to!"

"Now I never said that, don't try and twist this. If I had known, I would have-"

"Would have WHAT? Come back sooner? Please, you don't care about me, you never have! Just admit you left me for dead, but oh wait, you can't, I'm _already fucking dead David._ "

"Stop it, Max, you know that's not-" There was desperation building in his voice, pleading for Max to just _listen_ , but he refused to, choosing instead to talk over him, to twist him into some kind of monster.

"You just want me gone, is that it? You're probably relieved I'm dead, it means you won't have to deal with me again next summer, right?" He twisted his voice into a poor imitation of David's, marred by quickly building hysteria, " _If I just don't go back, maybe he'll be gone for good! What a great plan! And if that doesn't work, maybe I can find a way to kill him aga-_ "

"I _fucked up_ , Max! Okay? I'm just one person, and sometimes, I make bad decisions! I should have come back, and I didn't, and that's my fault, but I'm not the person you're trying to make me out to be! I care about you, and I know that's hard for you to understand, but it's true, Max. I can't fix this, any of this, as much as I wish I could, so we're just going to deal with this as it comes. I really am so sorry, Max." By now, both Max and David were crying, the fight taking out all their anger, leaving only their frustration and misery.

"I don't want to be stuck here," Max practically whispered, voice quivering, "I don't want to be stuck here until I snap, or just fade away. I hate this, all of this, and especially that it had to be you I'm stuck with, but just... don't let me be stuck here. I don't want to be alone." His voice broke, and he curled into his hoodie, hiding as much as he could, waiting for the inevitable rejection that was sure to follow, because that's what always happened, wasn't it.

David crumpled to the floor next to him, wrapping his arms around the boy, who had been made corporeal first by his anger, and then by his sorrow. "Never, Max. You'll never be alone again, I promise."

They sat like that until David's arms passed through Max again, and then they sat up, wiping away their remaining tears.

"So," David laughed a little, "What's next?"

Max stood, pacing as he thought. "The town I live in isn't too far, we could definitely make it in one night. We should try to leave as soon as it gets dark though, just in case some shit goes wrong. I know generally where my body will be, so overall it shouldn't take us that long to get this over with, and then you'll be free to live the rest of your life in peace. Hell, we probably have time tonight, it isn't that late yet. So," He turned to David, smirking a little, "You wanna go find a body?"

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry this chapter is so short, it's one in the morning and I had to write this. Hopefully the next chapter will be out soon, but we'll see! Thanks for reading!


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